2007 Arizona State Sun Devils College Football Picks & Predictions


June 5, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

Fired head coach Dirk Koetter left behind a ton of talent on offense. Dennis Erickson and his career 148-65 record as a head coach looks very promising to this program and he should have a chance to succeed right away as head man for the Sun Devils. ASU will still have their vertical passing game with Erickson’s philosophy’s installed along with some shotgun formations. Rudy Carpenter used the same style of offense in high school and will be asked to be efficient as the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback.

Ryan Torain quietly put together ASU’s best rushing season in more than 30 years. Only four Sun Devils have had more yards in team history than Torain’s 1,229 as the starting tailback last season. Add in Keegan Herring and his 1,419 yards of the last two seasons, and ASU boasts the Pac-10′s premier rushing duo. All the backs will run behind a line stocked with returning starters in every position.

Carpenter is finally healthy as their play caller after battling hand injuries and has more receivers at his disposal. Sophomore wideouts Kyle Williams and Brandon Smith showed big-play receiving ability in the spring. Rudy Burgess is already a proven playmaker, but injuries plagued his junior year. Burgess will be looking for a big senior season. Carpenter has already thrown for more yards and touchdowns, with 4,796 and 40 respectively, than any ASU quarterback through his sophomore season. His challenge will be to stay within Erickson’s system, reduce interceptions and increase his passing efficiency, which he led nationally in a healthy 2005 season.

Ryan McFoy will take over the outside linebacker duties after transitioning from safety in the spring. Former safety Jeremy Payton moves to cornerback. These changes are due to Josh Barrett returning at safety after being tagged the team’s leading tackler last year, and Troy Nolan had a breakthrough spring at strong safety. The other move immediately paying off was flipping Saia Falahhola from guard to defensive tackle, where only Michael Marquardt is a proven commodity.

Issues remain up front and in the secondary going into the fall. The Sun Devils were stout enough not to be steamrolled by the offense in the final two spring scrimmages though. Junior college transfer Mirris Wooten will likely start at middle linebacker, but beyond that the jobs are up for grabs. The best case scenario for Erickson is that ASU’s offense will outweigh its defensive shortcomings, especially given an eight-game home schedule. This slate of home games should make things much easier on Erickson in his first year as head man.

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